Dual-gate device and method

ABSTRACT

A memory circuit having dual-gate memory cells and a method for fabricating such a memory circuit are disclosed. The dual-gate memory cells each include a memory device and an access device sharing a semiconductor layer, with their respective channel regions provided on different surfaces of the semiconductor layer. The semiconductor layer has a thickness such that a sensitivity parameter relating an electrical interaction between the gate electrodes of the access device and the memory device is less than a predetermined value. The dual-gate memory cells can be used as building blocks for a non-volatile memory array, such as a memory array formed by NAND-strings. In such an array, during programming of a nearby memory device in a NAND string, in NAND-strings not to be programmed, if inversion regions are allowed to be formed in the semiconductor layer, or if the semiconductor layer is allowed to electrically float, electrical interaction exists between the access devices and the memory devices to inhibit programming of the memory devices.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/548,231 filed on Oct. 10, 2006, which is incorporated herein byreference. Also, the subject matter of the present patent application isrelated to (a) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/000,114 (“the '114application”), entitled “Dual-Gate Device and Method,” filed on Nov. 29,2004 and to (b) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/197,462 (“the '462application”), entitled “Dual-Gate Device and Method,” filed on Aug. 3,2005. Disclosures of the '114 and '462 applications are herebyincorporated by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device. In particular,it relates to a semiconductor device having dual gate electrodes.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

Dual-gate semiconductor devices have been used as non-volatile memorydevices. For example, K. Yanagidaira et al (“Yanagidaira's paper”), IEEEElectron Device Letters, vol. 26, pp. 473-475, July 2005, report adual-gate silicon nanocrystal memory where electric charge stored on oneside of the dual-gate device would strongly affect the threshold voltageof the device on the other side of the dual-gate device. Dual-gatesemiconductor devices have also been used in NAND-type semiconductornon-volatile memory (“flash memory”) cells. For example, U.S. Pat. No.6,054,734 to Aozasa et al. (“the '734 patent”), entitled “Non-volatileMemory Cell Having Dual-gate Electrodes,” filed on Nov. 5, 1997 andissued on Apr. 25, 2000, discloses that a dual-gate approach allowsreduced read disturb and better control over threshold voltagedistributions in the programmed and erased states as the minimum featuresize shrinks.

FIG. 1 reproduces FIG. 4 of the '734 patent, which illustrates adual-gate semiconductor device in a memory cell of the prior art. Asshown in FIG. 1, region 24 is a supporting substrate (e.g., a siliconwafer), region 26 is an insulating layer separating the dual-gate devicefrom the supporting substrate. Region 36 is a gate electrode of thefirst of two devices in the dual-gate device. Region 32 is thecharge-storing gate dielectric layer of the first device. In oneembodiment disclosed in the '734 patent, dielectric region 32 isdescribed as a composite layer consisting of a layer of silicon nitridesandwiched between two oxide layers. Such a composite layer (oftenreferred to as “ONO”) stores electric charge. Gate dielectric region 32separates semiconductor channel region 30 from gate electrode region 36.The second gate electrode 38, which is the gate electrode for the seconddevice, is separated from layer 30 by gate dielectric layer 34.Dielectric layer 34 does not store charge. Interconnecting layers 44 and46 connect source and drain regions 40 and 42 to other circuitry.

As mentioned above, dual-gate memory cell 22 comprises a memory devicehaving first gate electrode 36 and a non-memory device having secondgate electrode 38. The memory device and the non-memory device are fieldeffect devices. In a field effect device, when a voltage applied to agate electrode is greater in magnitude than a “threshold” voltage(relative to a source electrode), a conducting channel forms between thesource electrode and a drain electrode. By placing electric chargebetween the gate electrode and the channel, this threshold voltage canbe changed as a function of the stored charge. In the dual-gate deviceof FIG. 1, electric charge trapped in gate dielectric 32 affects thethreshold voltages of both the memory device and the non-memory device.Such an effect results from the very close electrical interactionbetween the memory device and the non-memory device. In particular, tocalculate the thickness of channel region 30, the '734 patent assumesthat this semiconductor channel region is isotropic and monocrystalline.The amount of electric charge trapped in dielectric 32 is changed byprogramming and erasing operations effectuated by applying predeterminedvoltage levels on gate electrode 36 relative to the voltages in thesource and drain regions 40 and 42.

FIG. 2 reproduces FIG. 17 of the '734 patent, which illustratesdual-gate semiconductor memory cells in a NAND configuration. As shownin FIG. 2, non-volatile semiconductor memory device 202 comprises eightserially-connected dual-gate memory devices, each formed using thesingle dual-gate memory cell 22 of FIG. 1. Insulating layer 206 isolatesthe dual-gate memory devices, MN1 through to MN8, from supportingsubstrate 204. Each dual-gate memory device in FIG. 2 consists of firstgate electrode 216, which is separated from channel region 210 by gatedielectric layer 212 formed as an ONO film. Each dual-gate devicefurther comprises second gate electrode 218, which is separated fromchannel region 210 by gate dielectric layer 214. Similar to dielectricfilm 32 in dual-gate memory cell 22 of FIG. 1, gate dielectric layer 212is the gate dielectric layer that stores electric charge. FIG. 2's NANDconfiguration illustrates that source and drain regions 220 and 222,which are self-aligned to the second gate electrodes 218 by ionimplantation, are used between serially-connected adjoining dual-gatedevices.

The '734 patent teaches that the non-memory device in a dual-gatestructure is used to read the presence or absence of charge in thecorresponding memory device of the same dual-gate structure. For thenon-memory device to detect the charge in the memory device, thethickness of channel region 210 (FIG. 2) is chosen to allow the electricfield at one surface to influence the other surface. One method toachieve this effect is to allow one surface to be uniformly within thedepletion region of the other surface, when a selected voltage isapplied to the source electrode of the dual-gate device. Such a closeelectrical interaction means that the charge stored in gate dielectric212 in FIG. 2 affects the threshold voltage of the non-memory device,which is measured by the voltage required to be applied to gateelectrode 218 relative to either source electrode 220 or 222 to allow anelectric current to flow through channel region 210.

The '734 patent further teaches that the memory device of the dual-gatedevice is programmed by applying a predetermined voltage to memory gateelectrodes 216 through other memory devices, while the non-memorydevices play no part in this programming operation. The NANDnon-volatile memory of FIG. 2 has several disadvantages associated withit.

First, the requirement that the charge stored in the gate dielectric ofthe memory device affect the threshold voltage of the associatednon-memory device in the dual-gate device ensures that strong electricalinteraction exists between these two devices. This approach is taken inboth the '734 patent and Yanagidaira's paper. Furthermore, usingcrystalline silicon in FIG. 2's channel region 210 ensures that thisstrong electrical interaction is uniform across the whole surface ofeach device's channel region. The method for reading a cell, as taughtin the '734 patent, requires a current to pass through the channelregion near its surface adjacent to the non-memory devices in the NANDstring. Using this current to determine the actual threshold voltage ofthe device being read is difficult, as such a determination depends onbeing able to discriminate a current from a base current level that isaffected by the programmed and erased states of all other memory cellsin the string. This method is made even more challenging by the smalldifference in threshold voltages between the programmed and the erasedstate of a device, due to the relatively great distance over which thestored electric charge must act to affect these threshold voltages.

The strong, uniform electrical interaction between the non-memory deviceand its associated memory device also results in read disturb in thememory cells in the NAND serial string every time a single cell is read.This read disturb results from a change in the stored charge in eachmemory cell as a result of applying the read voltages to all non-memorygate electrodes of the NAND string.

A further disadvantage of the structure taught in '734 patent stems fromthe requirement that the memory device is programmed through othermemory devices in the NAND string. Because of this requirement, eachgate electrode of the memory devices between the bit line contact (e.g.,bit line contact 224 in FIG. 2) and the selected memory device (i.e.,the memory device to be programmed) must have a large applied voltagerelative to the bit line contact voltage to ensure good electricalconnection between the bit line contact and the inverted channel of theselected memory device. This “program pass voltage” is lower than theprogram voltage applied to the gate electrode of the selected memorydevice, but the program pass voltage can still lead to a serious programdisturb sufficient, after repetitive application, to change the amountof electric charge in the unselected memory devices.

Other disadvantages of the approach used in the '734 patent arediscussed in the '114 and '462 applications and are not repeated herefor brevity.

In the '734 patent, the channel silicon thickness is calculated on theassumption that the channel semiconductor is fully monocrystalline andthat depletion region thicknesses are determined by the dopantconcentration in the channel. The principles for determining thesethicknesses may be found, for example, in the article “Threshold Voltageof Thin-Film Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) MOSFET's” (“the Lim Article”),by Lim and Fossum, published in IEEE Trans. Elect. Dev., vol. 30, no. 10(October 1983), pp. 1244-1251. According the Lim Article, to provide theelectrical interaction necessary for allowing the programmed state ofthe memory device to be read from the non-memory device, the thickness dof the semiconductor material for forming conducting channels of thememory and non-memory devices is given by:

$\begin{matrix}{d \leq \sqrt{\frac{4\; ɛ\; \Phi_{F}}{{qN}_{B}}}} & (1)\end{matrix}$

where

${\Phi_{F} = {\frac{kT}{q}\ln \frac{N_{B}}{n_{i}}}},$

∈ is the dielectric constant of the semiconductor material, q is thecharge of an electron, N_(B) is in the impurity concentration in thesemiconductor material where the conducting channels are to be formed,n_(i) is the intrinsic minority carrier concentration in thermalequilibrium, k is Boltmann's constant and T is the absolute temperaturein kelvins. For this range of thicknesses, when the memory device isinverted, the channel semiconductor region is fully depleted. FIG. 10plots the threshold voltage of a front gate device as a function of animposed voltage at the back gate in a semiconductor having a thicknesssatisfying the condition of equation (1). FIG. 10 is adapted from FIG. 3in the Lim Article. As shown in FIG. 10, for imposed voltages less thatV_(Gb) ^(A) or greater than V_(Gb) ^(I), the front gate thresholdvoltage is unaffected by the voltage imposed on the back gate. FIG. 11shows experimentally the change in front gate threshold voltage, asrepresented by a corresponding change in source-drain current I_(D) ofthe front gate device, as a function of the back gate voltage V_(Gb).FIG. 11 is adapted from FIG. 7 of the Lim Article.

To overcome the disadvantages of its prior art, the '114 applicationdiscloses a dual-gate device that exhibits no electrical interactionbetween the memory device and opposite non-memory device. In a dual-gatedevice according to the '114 application, the thickness of thesemiconductor material between the memory device and the non-memorydevice is selected such that substantially complete electrical shieldingis provided between the two opposite semiconductor surfaces of theconducting channels. The gate of the memory device is used for sensingthe programmed state of the memory device.

The '462 application discloses a dual-gate device that achievessubstantially complete electrical shielding between the two oppositesemiconductor surfaces of the conducting channels over a predeterminedrange of non-memory device gate voltages. Outside this predeterminedrange, electrical interaction between the memory and non-memory devicesexists but does not interfere with the operations of the dual-gatedevice. In a dual-gate device of the '462 application, the gate of thememory device is used to sense the programmed state of the memorydevice, using a voltage that is within this zero electrical interactionrange.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a non-volatile semiconductor memorydevice using a dual-gate structure that can be used to build a memorycircuit of high density, while minimizing charge disturbs duringprogramming and reading operations.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a dual-gate memorydevice is formed over and insulated from a semiconductor substrate thatmay include additional functional circuits interconnected to thedual-gate memory device. The dual-gate device comprises twosemiconductor devices formed on opposite surfaces of a common activesemiconductor region. In one embodiment, under a first condition,electrical interaction between the two devices in the dual-gatestructure can be accommodated when a sensitivity parametercharacterizing the electrical interaction is less than a predeterminedvalue. In one embodiment of the present invention, the memory device inthe dual-gate structure includes a gate dielectric comprising acomposite layer of silicon oxide, silicon nitride and silicon oxide(ONO). Such a dual-gate memory device is a suitable building block in aNAND-type non-volatile memory array.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the activesemiconductor layer comprises a polycrystalline semiconductor material,such as polycrystalline silicon (“polysilicon”), polycrystallinegermanium or a combination of polysilicon and polycrystalline germanium.The polycrystalline semiconductor material may be obtained bydeposition, or by crystallizing an amorphous semiconductor materialusing laser irradiation or heat treatment, for example.

The present invention provides a dual-gate device comprising a firstgate electrode, a first dielectric layer formed over the first gateelectrode, a semiconductor layer formed over the first dielectric layer,a second dielectric layer formed over the semiconductor layer, and asecond gate electrode formed over the second dielectric layer. In thatdual-gate device, a predetermined range of electric charge can be storedeither between the first gate electrode and the semiconductor layer, orbetween the second gate electrode and the semiconductor layer, to affectthe threshold voltage of primarily one of the devices in the dual-gatedevice and minimizing the effect on the threshold voltage of the otherdevice.

Preferably, the dual-gate device is separated from a substrate by aninsulating layer. The substrate may contain circuitry that may beinterconnected with the dual-gate device.

Preferably, one gate dielectric layer in the two devices of thedual-gate device stores electric charge, so as to form a dual-gatememory device. The gate dielectric layer may be formed as a compositedielectric stack comprising silicon oxide, silicon nitride and siliconoxide (ONO). Other dielectric layers may also be used, such as embeddinga floating conductor within the gate dielectric layer. Such a floatingconductor may be placed between the memory device's gate electrode andthe active semiconductor layer, and may consist of nanocrystals of aconductor or semiconductor embedded in the gate dielectric layer.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, multiple dual-gatememory devices may share the same active semiconductor region, and maybe serially connected in a NAND string. Within each dual-gate device,one device is a memory device having a gate dielectric optimized tostore electric charge. The other device, on the opposite face of theactive semiconductor layer, is used as an access device. According toone embodiment of the present invention, the memory device is programmedby applying a programming voltage to the gate electrode, while gateelectrodes of the other memory devices in the same NAND string eitherare left electrically floating or are applied a small voltage. While theprogramming voltage is applied to the gate electrode of the memorydevice, a smaller “program pass voltage” is applied to all the gateelectrodes of the access devices that are situated between the memorydevice being programmed and the grounded bit line contact of the NANDstring. The program pass voltage is the highest operational voltageapplied to the gate electrode of an access device. In the operation ofthis NAND-type memory device, the electrical interaction between theaccess device and the memory device is minimized when the voltageapplied to the gate electrode of the access device is at or lower thanthe program pass voltage, while one of the memory devices in the NANDstring is programmed. Electrical interaction is minimized when allsource and drain regions in the active semiconductor layer between thebit line contact and the memory device being programmed are connectedelectrically to the bit line contact through access device inversionchannels, with the bit line contact being held close to the groundpotential.

For NAND strings adjacent to and sharing the same memory gate electrodeword lines and access gate electrode word lines with a NAND string thatis being programmed, strong electrical interaction in the activesemiconductor layer between the access devices and the memory devices isneeded, so as to ensure disturbances of the stored electric charge inthese NAND strings not being programmed are minimized during theprogramming operation in the neighboring NAND string. Disturbances areminimized when all sources and drains within the active semiconductorlayer of these NAND strings inhibited from being programmed are allowedto electrically float. The source/drain region connected directly to thebit line contact may also be allowed to float.

When a memory cell in a NAND string of the present invention is read, a“read pass voltage” is applied to the access gate electrodes, while thememory gate electrodes are left floating or are applied a low voltage,except for the memory device being read. The gate electrode of thememory device being read is applied a read voltage, which is usuallylower than the read pass voltage, while its associated access device isnon-conducting.

Thus, program and read disturbs of stored electric charge are bothminimized, in accordance with the present invention.

The present invention will be better understood from the detaileddescription below with reference to the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows dual-gate memory cell 22 of the prior art.

FIG. 2 shows dual-gate NAND string 202 of the prior art.

FIGS. 3A-3L show a method applicable to forming a NAND-type non-volatilememory device, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4A shows a symbol representing a dual-gate memory cell of thepresent invention.

FIG. 4B shows a structural schematic representation of a dual-gatememory cell of the present invention.

FIG. 5A is a circuit diagram showing two NAND strings, each comprising anumber of dual-gate memory cells, according to one embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 5B shows a structural schematic representation of part of a NANDstring according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5C shows a structural schematic representation of a part of theNAND string from FIG. 5A along with the voltage waveforms at variousnodes of dual-gate NAND strings 501 and 502, according to one embodimentof the present invention, when one memory cell is programmed.illustrating a strong electrical interaction between the memory deviceand the access devices, provided to inhibit programming.

FIG. 6 is a chart showing the threshold voltage of the memory device, asa function of the access gate electrode voltage, according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 shows structure 800, which is formed by stacking dual-gateNAND-type non-volatile memory devices; the stacking is achieved byapplying the methoding steps shown in FIGS. 3A-3L repetitively,according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 shows structure 900, which is also formed by stacking dual-gateNAND-type non-volatile memory devices, according to one embodiment ofthe present invention; in structure 900, each memory gate electrode hastwo gate dielectric layers.

FIG. 9 shows structure 1000, which is also formed by stacking dual-gateNAND-type non-volatile memory devices, according to one embodiment ofthe present invention; in structure 1000, each access gate electrode hastwo gate dielectric layers.

FIG. 10 plots the threshold voltage of a front gate device as a functionof an imposed voltage at the back gate in a semiconductor having athickness within satisfying the condition of equation (1).

FIG. 11 shows experimentally the change in front gate threshold voltage,represented by a corresponding change in source-drain current I_(D) ofthe front gate device, as a function of the back gate voltage V_(Gb).

FIG. 12, which reproduces FIG. 4 of the Servati Article, shows thethreshold voltage relationship of FIG. 6 for a 50-nm thick amorphoussilicon channel material.

FIG. 13, which reproduces FIG. 5 from the Kaneko Article, shows thevalue of sensitivity parameter measured for an amorphous siliconthin-film transistor as a function of thickness.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention provides a dual-gate semiconductor memory devicethat includes a semiconductor channel material layer having a“sensitivity parameter” (discussed below) that is less than apredetermined value (e.g., 0.8). The dual-gate semiconductor memorydevice is suitable for use in three-dimensionally stacked memorycircuits to achieve high circuit density. Additionally, when used in aNAND-type non-volatile semiconductor memory device, a memory device ofthe present invention experiences only minor disturbs of stored electriccharge during programming and reading.

FIGS. 3A-3L illustrate a method suitable for forming a NAND-typenon-volatile semiconductor memory device, according to one embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 3A shows insulating layer 101 provided on substrate 100. Substrate100 may be a semiconductor wafer containing integrated circuitry forcontrolling a non-volatile memory. The semiconductor wafer may be eitherof a bulk type, where the substrate is made of a single crystal ofsemiconductor, such as silicon, or of a semiconductor-on-insulator type,such as silicon on insulator (SOI), where the integrated circuitry ismade in the thin top silicon layer. Insulating layer may be planarizedusing conventional chemical mechanical polishing (CMP). Withininsulating layer 101 may be embedded vertical interconnections (notshown in FIG. 3) for connecting the integrated circuitry with thenon-volatile memory device. Such interconnections may be made usingconventional photolithographic and etch techniques to create contactholes, followed by filling the contact holes with a suitable type ofconductor, such as a combination of titanium nitride (TiN) and tungsten(W), or a heavily doped polysilicon.

Next, a conducting material 102 is provided on top of insulating layer101 using conventional deposition techniques. Material 102 may alsocomprise a stack of two or more conducting materials formed insuccession. Suitable materials for material 102 include heavily dopedpolysilicon, titanium disilicide (TiSi₂), tungsten (W), tungsten nitride(WN), cobalt silicide (CoSi₂), nickel silicide (NiSi) or combinations ofthese materials. Conventional photolithographic and etch techniques areused to pattern gate electrode word lines 102 a, 102 b and 102 c, asshown in FIG. 3B. These word lines form the gate electrode word linesfor the access devices to be formed, according to one embodiment of thepresent invention.

Next, an insulating layer 103 is provided over word lines 102 a, 102 band 102 c. Insulating layer 103 may be provided using high densityplasma (HDP), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), plasma enhanced CVD(PECVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD) or may be a spin on glass(SOG). The surface is then planarized using a conventional CMP step,which either may polish insulating layer 103 down to the surface of theword lines 102 a, 102 b and 102 c, or timed such that a controlledthickness remains of insulating layer 103 between the surface of theword lines 102 a, 102 b and 102 c and the top polished surface ofinsulating layer 103. In the former case, after CMP, a controlledthickness of an insulating material is deposited using one of thetechniques discussed above. Under either approach, the result is shownin FIG. 3C.

Next, trenches 105 are etched into insulating layer 103 usingconventional photolithographic and etch techniques. The etching exposesat least the surface of the word lines 102 a, 102 b and 102 c andremoves a portion of insulating layer 103. Over-etching may also takeplace, so long as no detriment is made to the electrical working of theeventual completed structure. FIG. 3D shows trench 105 after formation.The trenches are formed in a direction perpendicular to word lines 102a, 102 b and 102 c. FIG. 3E shows a cross section through both trench105 and word line 102, which runs along the plane of FIG. 3E. Trench 105may be 50 Å to 3000 Å thick, preferably about 500 Å. Trenches 105 may beformed in a trench etch which also removes a portion of each word line102. Such an etch may be achieved by over-etching (using plasma etching,for example) of insulating material 105 into a portion of word lines102. Thus, the bottom of trench 105 may be situated below the topsurface of each word line 102.

Next, thin dielectric layer 106 is formed on top of the structure shownin FIG. 3E. Thin dielectric layer 106 forms the gate dielectric of theaccess device and may be formed using a conventional method, such asthermal oxidation in an oxidizing ambient, low pressure CVD (LPCVD)deposition of a dielectric material, such as silicon dioxide, siliconnitride, silicon oxynitride, high temperature oxide (HTO), PECVDdielectric (e.g., silicon oxide or silicon nitride), atomic layerdeposition (ALD) of silicon oxide, or some high-k dielectric material.The effective oxide thickness may be in the range of 10 Å and 400 Å.

Next, active semiconductor layer 107 is formed by depositing asemiconductor material, such as polycrystalline silicon (polysilicon),polycrystalline germanium, amorphous silicon, amorphous germanium or acombination of silicon and germanium, using conventional techniques suchas LPCVD or PECVD. Polycrystalline material may be deposited as a firststep as an amorphous material. The amorphous material may then becrystallized using heat treatment or laser irradiation. The material isformed sufficiently thick, so as to completely fill trench 105 (e.g., atleast half the width of trench 105). After deposition, the part of thesemiconductor material above trench 105 is removed using, for example,either CMP, or plasma etching. Using either technique, the semiconductormaterial can be removed with very high selectivity relative toinsulating layer 103. For example, CMP of polysilicon can be achievedwith selectivity with respect to silicon oxide of several hundred toone. The representative result using either technique is shown in FIG.3F.

FIG. 3G shows a cross section made through trench 105 and word line 102.Word line 102 runs in a direction parallel to the cross section plane ofFIG. 3G. Thin dielectric layer 106 forms the gate dielectric layer ofthe access device and material 107 is the semiconductor materialremaining in trench 105 after the material is substantially removed fromthe surface of insulating layer 103. Material 107 forms the activesemiconductor layer for both the memory device and the access device ofthe dual-gate device. Material 107 may be undoped or may be doped usingconventional methods, such as ion implantation, or in-situ dopingcarried out in conjunction with material deposition. A suitable dopingconcentration is between zero (i.e., undoped) and 5×10¹⁸/cm³, and may bep-type for an NMOS implementation or n-type for a PMOS implementation.The thickness of material 107 is selected such that the sensitivityparameter is less than a predetermined value (e.g., 0.8).

Next, dielectric layer 108 is provided, as shown in FIG. 3H. Dielectriclayer 108, which is the dielectric layer for the memory device in thedual-gate device, may be a composite ONO layer consisting of a bottom 10Å to 80 Å thick thin silicon oxide, an intermediate 20 Å to 200 Åsilicon nitride layer, and a top 20 Å to 100 Å silicon oxide layer.(Other materials may take the place of the silicon nitride layer, suchas silicon oxynitride, silicon-rich silicon nitride, or a siliconnitride layer that has spatial variations in silicon and oxygencontent.) Conventional techniques may be used to form these layers. Thebottom thin silicon oxide layer may be formed using thermal oxidation inan oxidizing ambient, low pressure oxidation in a steam ambient, orLPCVD techniques that deposits a thin layer of silicon oxide, such ashigh temperature oxide (HTO). Atomic layer deposition (ALD) may also beused to form the bottom thin silicon oxide layer. The intermediate layermay be formed using LPCVD techniques or PECVD techniques. The topsilicon oxide layer may be formed using, for example, LPCVD techniques,such as HTO, or by depositing a thin amorphous silicon layer, followedby a silicon oxidation in an oxidizing ambient.

Alternatively, dielectric layer 108 may be a composite layer consistingof silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxide, silicon nitride andsilicon oxide (ONONO), using the techniques discussed above. Asdiscussed above, the silicon nitride may be replaced by siliconoxynitride, silicon-rich silicon nitride, or a silicon nitride layerthat has spatial variations in silicon and oxygen content.Alternatively, an ONONONO layer may be used. Such multiplayer compositesmay be tailored such that the electric charge stored within dielectriclayer 108 persists for longer periods.

Alternatively, dielectric layer 108 may contain a floating gateconductor for charge storage that is electrically isolated from both thegate electrode of the memory device to be formed and the activesemiconductor layer. The floating gate conductor may comprisenano-crystals that are placed between the gate electrode and the activesemiconductor layer 107. Suitable conductors may be silicon, germanium,tungsten, or tungsten nitride.

Alternatively to charge storage in dielectric layer 108, the thresholdvoltage shifts may also be achieved by embedding a ferroelectricmaterial whose electric polarization vector can be aligned to apredetermined direction by applying a suitable electric field.

Alternatively, dielectric layer 108 may be a composite layer of siliconoxide, silicon nitride or oxynitride and a high-k (high dielectricconstant) dielectric such as aluminum oxide.

FIG. 3I shows a cross section of the forming dual-gate structure throughword line 102, after the step forming dielectric layer 108.

Next, conducting material 109 is provided over dielectric layer 108using conventional deposition techniques. Conducting material 109 maycomprise a stack of two or more conducting materials. Suitable materialsfor conducting material 109 include heavily doped polysilicon, titaniumdisilicide (TiSi₂), tungsten (W), tungsten nitride (WN), cobalt silicide(CoSi₂), nickel silicide (NiSi), tantalum nitride (TaN) or combinationsof these materials. Conventional photolithographic and etch techniquesare used to form gate electrode word lines 109 a, 109 b and 109 c, as isshown in FIG. 3J. These word lines form the gate electrode word lines ofthe forming memory devices, and run substantially parallel to theunderlying access gate electrode word lines 102 a, 102 b and 102 c. FIG.3K shows a cross section through word lines 102 and 109, after the stepforming word lines 109 a, 109 b and 109 c.

Next, source and drain regions are formed within active semiconductorlayer 107 using conventional methods such as ion implantation. For anNMOS implementation, n-type ions may be implanted with a dose between1×10¹⁴/cm² and 1×10¹⁶/cm², using ionic species such as arsenic,phosphorus or antimony. For a PMOS implementation, p-type ions may beimplanted at substantially the same dose range. P-type ionic species mayinclude boron, boron difluoride, gallium or indium. The ion implantationprovides source and drain regions that are self-aligned to the gateelectrode word lines 109 a, 109 b and 109 c. The result is illustratedin FIG. 3L in which regions 110 represent the heavily doped source anddrain regions. In one embodiment, these source and drain regions extendfrom the top surface of active semiconductor layer 107 to its bottomsurface. The source and drain regions may be formed using a combinationof ion implantation and subsequent thermal steps to diffuse the dopantatoms introduced.

Next, insulating layer 111 may be provided using high density plasma(HDP), CVD, PECVD, PVD or a spin on glass (SOG). The surface may then beplanarized using a conventional CMP step. The result is shown in FIG.3L.

Vertical interconnections 112 may then be formed using conventionalphotolithographic and plasma etching techniques to form small holes downto gate electrodes 109 a, 109 b 109 c, heavily doped semiconductoractive regions 110 and gate electrodes 102 a, 102 b and 102 c. Theresulting holes are filled with a conductor using conventional methods,such as tungsten deposition (after an adhesion layer of titanium nitridehas been formed) and CMP, or heavily doped polysilicon, followed byplasma etch back or CMP. The result is shown in FIG. 3L.

Subsequent methoding may be carried out to further interconnect thedual-gate devices with other dual-gate devices in the same layer or indifferent layers and with the circuitry formed in the substrate 100.

Although FIG. 3 illustrates a method which forms the access device(i.e., the non-memory device) before forming the memory device, bymaking dielectric layer 108 charge-storing and dielectric layer 106non-charge storing, the memory device may be formed before thenon-memory device. Irrespective of which order is chosen, the operationsof the memory device and non-memory device are substantially the same.

FIG. 3 therefore illustrates forming a dual-gate memory device withaccess gate 102, access gate dielectric 106, semiconductor active region107, memory dielectric 108, memory gate electrode 109 and source anddrain regions 110.

FIG. 4A shows an electric schematic symbol for this dual-gate device.FIG. 4B shows a structural schematic representation of a dual-gatememory cell implemented using a NMOS method, according to one embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 5A shows NAND strings 501 and 502, using the electric circuitsymbol of FIG. 4A for each dual-gate device. As shown in FIG. 5A, NANDstrings 501 and 502 are each formed by a number of dual-gate memorycells, with corresponding dual-gate memory cells from NAND strings 501and 502 sharing the same access gate electrode word lines and memorygate electrode word lines. NAND strings sharing word lines may be placedadjacent to each other, or may be separated from each other by one ormore parallel NAND strings in between. Each NAND string may have one ormore select dual-gate devices (e.g., the devices controlled by wordlines SG1 b and SG2 b) in the NAND string between the bit line contactand the dual-gate memory cells, and one or more select dual-gate devices(e.g., the devices controlled by word lines SG3 b and SG4 b) between thesource contact and the dual-gate memory cells.

FIG. 5B shows a structural schematic representation of one part of aNAND string, according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG.5C illustrates NAND string 502 being inhibited from programming, whenanother NAND string which shares with it the same gate electrode wordlines is being programmed. This can be seen by monitoring the voltage onnode 502 x as shown in FIG. 5C along with the voltage waveforms of allother important nodes during programming of a cell in string 501. Node502 x rises in voltage causing the voltage across the memory dielectricof the cell with memory wordline WL(m)b to be minimized and thusinhibiting programming. Electrical operations of these NAND strings forprogramming, reading and erasing are described below, so as to explainthe electrical interaction required between the access devices and thememory devices in each NAND string.

FIG. 8 shows structure 800, which includes multiple layers of dual-gatememory cells, formed using the method steps discussed above inconjunction with FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 8, layers 801-1, 801-2 and801-3 may be each formed using the methoding sequence illustrated byFIG. 3.

FIG. 9 shows structure 900, also including multiple layers of dual gatememory cells. In structure 900, however, each memory gate electrodeserves two distinct devices. FIG. 10 shows structure 1000, which isanother alternative structure allowing multiple layers of dual gatememory cells. In structure 1000, each access gate electrode serves twodistinct devices. Structures 900 and 1000 may be formed by appropriatelymodifying the relevant methoding sequence discussed above and shown inFIG. 3.

Returning to FIG. 5A, consider the case in which one memory device inNAND string 501 is programmed. NAND string 501 has a bit line contact“Bit1” and a source contact “source1”. Suppose the dual-gate memory cellto be programmed is the one having WL(m)b as the memory gate electrodeword line and WL(m)a as the access gate electrode word line. To programthis memory cell, a ground voltage or a small voltage is applied to bitline contact “Bit 1,” and the source contact “source1” may either beallowed to electrically float or be applied a positive voltage betweenzero and 10 volts. In one embodiment of the present invention, thesource contacts “source1” and “source2” of NAND strings 501 and 502 areconnected together. The select gate electrodes SG1 a and SG2 a areapplied a positive select gate program pass voltage between 1 volt and13 volts. A typical voltage is 7 volts, with the optimal voltage beingdetermined through experimentation. Word lines SG1 b and SG2 b may alsobe applied this voltage, a small voltage or may be left to electricallyfloat. The access gate electrode word lines, WL1 a to WL(m−1)a, are eachapplied a positive program pass voltage between 1 volt and 10 volts,with a typical voltage of 7 volts. Again, an optimal voltage value maybe determined through experimentation. All other access gate electrodeword lines WL(m)a to WL(n)a and the select gate electrode word lines SG3a, SG4 a, SG3 b and SG4 b may be left floating. A programming voltagebetween 9V and 18V (typically, 15V) is applied to the word line WL(m)b.Again, an optimum value is determined through experimentation. All othermemory cell word lines, WL1 b to WL(m−1)b, can be either applied a smallvoltage or be allowed to electrically float. In this way, a chargeinversion layer is formed in the active semiconductor layer (e.g.,active semiconductor layer 107) close to the gate electrode of thememory device being programmed. In addition, this inversion channel istied close to the voltage that is applied to bit line contact “Bit1”during the programming operation, by connecting the inversion channel tobit line contact “Bit1” through the inversion channels and sources anddrains regions of all the access devices and active select devicesbetween the bit line contact “Bit1” and the inversion channel of thememory device being programmed. Programming is achieved by tunnelingelectric charge from the inversion channel of the memory device beingprogrammed to the charge trapping sites within the memory device's gatedielectric layer (such as dielectric layer 108 of FIG. 3).

To reduce “program pass disturb” on memory cells within the same NANDstring that has a memory cell being programmed, the program pass voltageis set at a voltage level that hardly affects the charge stored in thememory devices of the NAND string between the bit line contact and thememory cell being programmed. The allowable program pass voltages may bedetermined experimentally (e.g., by taking a dual-gate memory device andconfirming that applying the program pass voltages under considerationto the access gate electrode hardly affects the threshold voltage of itsassociated memory device after application of the program pass voltage).

FIG. 6 shows the effect of access gate electrode voltage on thethreshold voltage of the memory device within the same dual-gate device,according to one embodiment of the present invention. Within theoperational range of program pass voltages applied to the gate electrodeof an access device, the threshold voltage of the associated memorydevice bears a linear relationship with the access gate electrodevoltage. This relationship exists in thin-film dual-gate transistorswhere the channel material is not monocrystalline (e.g., amorphoussilicon or polysilicon) of certain thickness, and may be represented by:

V _(T1) =V _(T0) −β·V _(G2)  (2)

where V_(T1) is the threshold voltage of the device on the first face ofthe channel material (“first device”), V_(G2) is the gate voltage on thedevice on the second face of the channel material (“second device”),V_(T0) is the threshold voltage of the first device when zero volts isimposed on the gate electrode of the second device, and β is theproportional constant (“sensitivity parameter”). The article “StaticCharacteristics of a-Si:H Dual-Gate TFT's” by P. Servati et al (“theServati Article”), IEEE Trans. Elect. Dev., vol. 50, no. 4 (April 2003),pp. 926-932, discloses a material exhibiting the characteristic ofEquation (2). FIG. 12, which reproduces FIG. 4 of the Servati Article,shows the threshold voltage relationship of Equation (2) for a 50-nmthick amorphous silicon channel material. In FIG. 12, the top-gate isthe second device and V_(T) is the threshold voltage of the firstdevice, showing a magnitude of β to be about 0.14. Unlike themonocrystalline silicon channel material of FIG. 10, the amorphoussilicon channel material of FIG. 12 does not exhibit interactionplateaus.

FIG. 13 shows the value of sensitivity parameter measured for anamorphous silicon thin-film transistor as a function of thickness. Thedata in FIG. 13 are reported in FIG. 5 of the article “Back-bias effecton the current-voltage characteristics of amorphous silicon thin-filmtransistors,” by Y. Kaneko et al., Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids,vol. 149 (1992), pp. 264-268. Polycrystalline channel material isexpected to exhibit similar characteristics.

Thus, provided that the sensitivity parameter is within a selected limit(e.g., less than 0.8 and preferably less than 0.2), many practicalthicknesses of non-monocrystalline channel material and many practicaloperational voltages may be used in a dual-gate memory device, eventhough electrical interaction between the memory and the access deviceson opposite surfaces of active semiconductor material 107 affects athreshold voltage change in each other. Unlike the devices in the '734patent, however, where such electrical interaction is maximized, adual-gate memory device of the present invention (e.g., in a NANDconfiguration)—where the non-memory devices are used as access devicesand not used as read devices—may be provided a practical thickness thataccommodates the electrical interaction. As shown in FIG. 13, asensitivity parameter value of 0.2 or less can be achieved over a widerange of thicknesses (e.g., 0.1-1.0 μm).

Thus, when any source or drain within a NAND string is tied to aselected voltage within a predetermined range taking into account thesensitivity parameter of FIG. 6 and is not allowed to electricallyfloat, even though an electrical interaction may occur between theaccess device and its associated memory device, an allowed program passvoltage may be applied to the access gate electrode.

To inhibit programming of a memory device in an adjacent NAND stringthat shares the same word line with a memory device being programmed(e.g. in FIGS. 5A and 5C, inhibiting programming in NAND string 502,while NAND string 501 is being programmed), there are two mainapproaches. First, the inversion channel formed in NAND string 502 (theinhibited NAND string) is allowed to electrically float. Alternatively,the active semiconductor layer common to the memory devices in NANDstring 502 may be allowed to electrically float. Under either method, aresulting strong electrical interaction between the access devices andthe memory devices in NAND string 502 exists that reduces the electricfield across gate dielectric 108 in the memory device, hence inhibitingprogramming. Consequently, a much reduced electric charge tunnelingoccurs between the inhibited memory device's gate electrode and theactive semiconductor layer. A further technique for inhibitingprogramming in NAND string 502 ties the bit line contact “Bit2” (FIG.5A) to a voltage between 5 volts to 15 volts (typically, 9 volts). Anoptimal value for this voltage applied on the bit line contact can bedetermined experimentally.

FIGS. 5A and 5C illustrate allowing the inversion channel formed ininhibited NAND string 502 to electrically float. The voltages applied toNAND string 501 during the programming operation have already beendiscussed above. During programming, a voltage close to the voltageapplied to both word lines SG1 a and SG2 a is applied to bit linecontact “Bit2” (BL2 in FIG. 5C) in NAND string 502. Thus, node 502 x inFIG. 5A is allowed to reach a voltage slightly lower than that appliedto bit line contact “Bit2”. When the program pass voltage is applied toeach of the access gate electrode word lines WL1 a through to WL(m−1)a(the rest of the access gate electrodes up to WL(n)a may also have theprogram pass voltage applied to increase the voltage boost experiencedby node 502 x as shown in FIG. 5C), an inversion layer is allowed toform in all associated access devices in NAND string 502. Applying theprogramming voltage to word line WL(m)b also forms an inversion channelin the memory device of the dual-gate device in inhibited string 502. Inthis way, this inversion channel is connected through other inversionchannels and source and drains to node 502 x. Because of the strongcapacitive coupling between the access gate electrode word lines, on onehand, and the inversion channels and the source and drains regions, onthe other hand, node 502 x and all the connected inversion channels andthe sources and drains regions rise in voltage and electrically floatindependent of the voltage applied to bit line contact Bit2. Duringprogramming, source contact “Source2” of NAND string 502 may either beallowed to electrically float or may be tied to a positive voltagebetween zero volts and 10 volts. In one embodiment of the presentinvention, the source contacts “source 1” and “source2” may be tiedtogether. This node is called CSL (common source line) in FIG. 5C. Thisstrong electrical interaction between the access devices and the memorydevices inhibits programming of the memory cell in NAND string 502 thathas its memory gate electrode word line WL(m)b. This can be seen in FIG.5C showing node 502 x rising in voltage and thus limiting the voltagedrop across the memory dielectric of the memory device with wordlineWL(m)b.

Inhibiting programming in NAND string 502 can also be achieved byelectrically floating bit line contact “Bit2” during programming. Inthis way, little or no inversion occurs in any dual-gate device withinthe active semiconductor layer of NAND string 502, thus further allowingthe active semiconductor layer (e.g., active semiconductor layer 107) toelectrically float. Consequently, capacitive coupling results betweenthe access devices and the memory devices within this NAND string 502.This capacitive coupling results in the necessary program inhibition inthe memory cell in NAND string 502 that has WL(m)b as its memory devicegate electrode. Under this method, select dual-gate devices with wordlines SG1 a, SG1 b, SG2 a and SG2 b, may not be necessary for theoperation of the NAND memory device, thus further increasing the memorydensity achievable.

In summary, during programming, program pass disturb immunity in thememory cells of NAND string 501 in FIG. 5A is achieved by goodelectrical isolation between access devices and memory devices, whenprogram pass voltages within the operating range are applied to theaccess devices. This electrical isolation is characterized by thesensitivity parameter given in FIGS. 6, 12 and 13. To achieve goodprogram inhibit in the adjacent NAND string 502, good electricalinteraction is needed between the access devices and the memory devices.Program disturb and program pass disturb concern the voltages to beapplied to the non-selected memory gate electrode word lines WL1 bthrough WL(m−1)b. These word lines may be allowed to float or may betied to a pre-determined voltage that has been previously optimized toreduce these disturb mechanisms. In one embodiment, this voltage isbetween zero volts and 5 volts.

The read operation is discussed with reference to FIG. 5A. Suppose thememory cell to be read is the one in NAND string 501 with memory gateelectrode word line WL(m)b. To read this cell, a small read voltage(e.g., 1 volt) between the programmed threshold voltage and the erasedthreshold voltage is applied to word line WL(m)b. The selected voltagemay be determined empirically At the same time, a small voltage (e.g.,between 0.5 volts and 4 volts; preferably, 1 volt) is applied to bitline contact “Bit1” of NAND string 501. Source contact “Source1” of NANDstring 501 is held at a lower voltage (e.g., ground voltage) than bitline contact “Bit1.” All access gate electrode word lines between bitline contact Bit1 and source contact Source1, except for word lineWL(m)a, but including those of the select devices SG1 a, SG2 a, SG3 aand SG4 a, are applied a read pass voltage that is usually higher thanthe read voltage, but lower than the previously discussed program passvoltage. Depending on the sensitivity parameter, the read pass voltagemay be provided between 1 volt and 8 volts, and typically, 4 volts, forexample. All other memory cell gate electrode word lines are either leftelectrically floating or are tied to a small voltage. The requirementfor a good electrical isolation during programming of a NAND stringhaving a node in the active semiconductor layer applied a particularvoltage results also in the lower read pass voltage applied having aneven lesser effect on the stored charge in the associated memory devicesin NAND string 501. The sensitivity parameter discussed above is themeasure of electrical interaction between access device and itsassociated memory device during read pass and program pass in the NANDstring being selected for programming: a smaller sensitivity parametermeans smaller electrical interaction during these crucial NANDelectrical operations.

During the read operation, bit line contact “Bit2” of NAND string 502 inFIG. 5A can be left electrically floating or can be tied to a voltageclose to ground voltage. Under either approach, read pass disturb in theNAND string being read is minimized. Also, read disturb and read passdisturb in adjacent NAND strings sharing the same word lines can also beminimized.

The erase operation is next discussed with reference to FIG. 5A. Eraseis usually carried out using one of two methods, with many NAND stringsbeing erased at the same time. The first erase method requires applyingthe ground voltage or a negative voltage to all the memory cell wordlines in the memory block of NAND strings and may include applying theground or negative voltage to the select devices of FIG. 5A. At the sametime, a large positive voltage may be applied to all the bit linecontacts and sources. As shown in FIG. 5A, the bit line contacts andsource line contacts are “Bit1”, “Bit2”, “Source1” and “Source2,”respectively. The voltage on these nodes may be between 7 volts and 15volts. In this way, electric charge can tunnel out of the memorydevices.

The second erase method also requires applying the ground voltage or anegative voltage to all the memory cell word lines in the memory blockof NAND strings and may include the select devices. At the same time, alarge positive voltage (e.g., between 7 to 20 volts) may be applied toall the access gate electrode word lines in the same block of NANDstrings, while the bit line contacts and source regions all electricallyfloat. Strong electrical interaction between the access devices and thememory devices ensures charge tunneling from the memory devices andallows erase to take place.

Based on the teachings above, very high density semiconductor devicesmay be formed by repetitive structures of the dual-gate devicesdiscussed above, as illustrated by structure 800 in FIG. 7. FIGS. 8 and9 show additional dual-gate device structures that are stacked in arepetitive manner to achieve high circuit densities. Specifically, FIG.8 shows structure 900 which includes charge storing gate dielectriclayers 108 on both sides of gate electrode layer 109 (i.e., using thesame gate electrode to control more than one memory device). FIG. 9shows structure 1000 which includes non-charge storing gate dielectriclayers 106 on both sides of gate electrode layer 102 (i.e., using thesame gate electrode to control more than one access device).

The above detailed description is provided to illustrate the specificembodiments of the present invention disclosed herein and is notintended to be limiting. Numerous variations and modifications of thepresent invention are possible within the scope of the presentinvention. The present invention is set forth in the accompanyingclaims.

1. A method for fabricating a dual-gate memory cell, comprising: forminga first conductor in an insulator layer; forming a trench in theinsulator layer, the bottom of the trench exposing the conductor;providing a first dielectric layer adjacent the exposed conductor;providing a semiconductor layer on the first dielectric layer; providinga second dielectric layer over the semiconductor layer; and providing asecond conductor adjacent the second dielectric layer; and wherein oneof the first and second dielectric layers is charge-storing and theother of the first and second dielectric layers is non-charge storing,and wherein the semiconductor layer is provided a thickness such that anelectrical interaction between the first and second conductors are lessthan a predetermined value.
 2. A method as in claim 1, furthercomprising providing source/drain regions in the semiconductor layer andwherein when a voltage is applied to the conductor layer adjacent thenon-charge storing dielectric layer and the source/drain regions areallowed to float, the conductor layer adjacent the non-charge storingdielectric electrically interacts with the charge in the charge-storingdielectric layer.
 3. A method as in claim 1, wherein the semiconductorlayer comprises polycrystalline semiconductor material.
 4. A method inclaim 3, wherein the polycrystalline semiconductor material is selectedfrom the group consisting of polycrystalline silicon, polycrystallinegermanium, and a combination of polycrystalline silicon andpolycrystalline germanium.
 5. A method as in claim 1, wherein thecharge-storing dielectric layer comprises silicon oxide and siliconnitride materials.
 6. A method as in claim 5, wherein the siliconnitride material is selected from the group consisting of siliconnitride, silicon oxynitride, a silicon-rich silicon nitride and asilicon nitride having spatial variation of the silicon and oxygencontents.
 7. A method as in claim 6, wherein the charge-storingdielectric layer comprises a floating conductor.
 8. A method as in claim7, wherein the floating conductor comprises nano-crystals placed betweena gate electrode and the semiconductor layer.
 9. A method in claim 8,wherein the nano-crystals comprises a material selected from the groupconsisting of silicon, germanium, tungsten, and tungsten nitride.
 10. Amethod as in claim 1, further comprising connecting the semiconductorlayer to a predetermined voltage when the voltage selected from apredetermined range of voltages is applied.